May 16, 2019

District Attorneys Association of the State of New York

3 Columbia PlaceAlbany, NY 12210

To New York State District Attorneys​:

Last month, the Governor and New York State Legislature passed long overdue reformsto bail, discovery and speedy trial laws in order to reduce race and wealth-basedincarceration and create a more fair and balanced criminal legal system. ​While theselaws don’t go into effect until January 1, 2020, we call on all New York StateDistrict Attorneys to phase-in the new reforms immediately, rather than wait untiltheir office is legally obligated to do so.

Actors in the criminal legal system have a responsibility to end draconian practices thatgave rise to mass incarceration. Phasing in these reforms now is not only ethical; it’sresponsible. Every prosecutor in the state should have experience doing their jobs in away that aligns with the new pretrial laws ​before​ they go into effect.

District Attorneys, both in New York and other states, have successfully institutedoffice-wide policies providing open, early discovery and ending money bail on broadcategories of charges. Prosecutors can play an important role in rolling back New York’sjail crisis by taking action now. Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers have suffered atthe hands of the current system. There is no reason for pretrial policies of the past toremain in place, unchanged, for the next eight months.

Prosecutors have the power to implement many aspects of these critical reforms today.We call on every District Attorney elected in New York State to publicly institute formalpolicies requiring that prosecutors in their offices:

1. Share case evidence as soon as possible and not later than fifteen days after arraignment 2. Eliminate the practice of asking for money bail on all charges in the ‘mandatory release’ category of the new bail law 3. Request that more people be released pretrial without onerous conditions 4. Request alternative, non-monetary forms of bail 5. Halt abuse of speedy trial law

In less than a year, your offices will be required to implement these common sensereforms to bail, discovery and speedy trial laws. The New Yorkers who have elected youto office should not have to wait until January for the justice that you could offer now.We ask that you join us in ending pretrial injustice by taking the immediate actionsoutlined above.Sincerely,